Diet, cancer, and the lipidome.

International audienceThe potential for dietary fat to interfere with the development of breast cancer by delaying its occurrence makes the identification of defined molecules a mandatory step in cancer prevention. In order to circumvent the limitations and/or bias of dietary exposure assessment tools, biomarkers of past lipid intake such as the fatty acid composition of white adipose tissue have been used. When considered separately, candidate fatty acids identified as favorable on the basis of their association with breast cancer risk have usually led to inconsistent results in animal intervention studies. This inconsistency indicates that any approach based on a single fatty acid should be abandoned for an integrated view over the complex lipid interactions which finally determines the lipidome, the lipid profile that is found in individuals. This article presents a reappraisal of the role of the lipid profile through a comprehensive reanalysis of adipose tissue fatty acid composition obtained in patients with benign or malignant breast tumors as well as in experimental animals during dietary interventions. Rather than a single fatty acid, a composite indicator combining elevated monounsaturates and low omega6/omega3 fatty acid ratio was associated with breast cancer protection. This lipidome may become the template for identifying breast cancer risk related to diet, and for designing proper dietary modifications to delay the occurrence of breast cancer, although the universality of the findings cannot be assessed from a single study

In vitro biofilms and antifungal susceptibility of dermatophyte and non-dermatophyte moulds involved in foot mycosis

Tinea pedis and onychomycosis are among the commonest fungal diseases in the world. Dermatophytes and, less frequently, non-dermatophyte moulds are aetiological agents of foot mycosis and are capable of forming biofilms. Fungal biofilm has demonstrated increasing drug resistance. This work aims to evaluate, in vitro, the ability to form biofilm and the susceptibility to antifungal drugs of sessile dermatophytes and non-dermatophyte moulds involved in foot mycosis. Thirty-six dermatophytes and non-dermatophyte moulds isolated from Tunisian patients with foot mycoses, and identified with MALDI-TOF have been tested. MICs of fluconazole, econazole, itraconazole, terbinafine and griseofulvin were carried out using CLSI broth microdilution method. The ability to form biofilm and antifungal activities of drugs against fungal biofilm formation has been quantified by Crystal Violet and Safranin Red staining. Biomass quantification revealed that all species studied were able to form biofilms in vitro after 72 hours. Fluconazole, econazole, itraconazole and terbinafine inhibited fungal growth with MIC values ranging from 0.031 to >64 μg mL(-1) . The best antifungal activity has been obtained with terbinafine against Fusarium solani. Econazole showed the highest activity against fungal biofilm formation. These findings can help clinicians to develop the appropriate therapy of foot mycosis

Polyethylene glycol and prevalence of colorectal adenomas : Population-based study of 1165 patients undergoing colonoscopy

Background and aim — Dietary polyethylene glycol (PEG) is extraordinarily potent in the chemoprevention of experimental colon carcinogenesis. PEG is used to treat constipation in France and in the USA. French laxatives include Forlax® (PEG4000), Movicol® and Transipeg® (PEG3350), and Idrocol® (pluronic F68). This study tests the hypothesis that use of a PEG-based laxative might reduce the prevalence of colorectal tumors. Methods — In this population-based study, consecutive patients attending for routine total colonoscopy were enrolled during four months by the gastroenterologists of Indre-et-Loire. They were asked if they had previously taken a laxative or a NSAID. Age, gender, previous polyps, family history of colorectal cancer, constipation, digestive symptoms were also recorded. Tumors found during colonoscopy were categorized histologically. Results — Records from 1165 patients fulfilled the inclusion criteria, 607 women and 498 men, mean age 58.3. Among those, 813 had no tumor, 329 had adenomas, and 23 had carcinomas. In a univariate analysis, older age, male gender, lack of digestive symptom, and previous polyps were more common in patients with colorectal tumors. In contrast, previous Forlax® intake was more common in tumor-free patients (odds ratio (OR) any use/no use, 0.52; 95% confidence interval, 0.27-0.94). More people used Forlax®, which contains a higher dose of PEG than the other PEGlaxatives, whose ORs were smaller than one, but did not reach significance. In multivariate analysis, older age and male gender were associated with higher risk, and NSAIDs use with lower risk, of colorectal tumors. Conclusion — Forlax® users had a halved risk of colorectal tumors in univariate analysis, which suggests that PEG may prevent carcinogenesis

La communication d’inconscient à inconscient

Plusieurs thèmes s’entrecroisent sous l’intitulé de votre colloque, autour desquels je tourne moi-même depuis que je me consacre aux études de communication et qui, en effet, sont parfois difficiles à faire entendre. Dans l’espace exigu de cette conférence, je vais tenter de relier très brièvement quelques points de repère, ou quelques concepts, susceptibles de rendre moins évanescents les phénomènes que nous discutons ici. En deçà de l’ordre symbolique Repartons de l’archi-concept qui domine..

Information/communication, deux pôles de nos études et de notre raison

Information et communication ne sont pas opposées mais complémentaires. La première, fondée sur le principe de raison, nécessite la seconde. Car la seconde se nourrit de la relation, de la « redondance communautaire », sans laquelle une information ne peut être partagée. Daniel Bougnoux s’appuie sur l’exemple du mouvement social de la fin de l’année 1995 pour analyser le « malentendu » entre le pouvoir et la nation. « Gouverner, ce n’est pas administrer mais (...) communiquer ». La communication précède l’information qui ne va jamais de soi.Information and communication are not opposites but complementary. The former based on the principle of reason necessitates the latter, for this second one feeds off relations, from « community redondance », without which information cannot be shared. Daniel Bougnoux bases his work on the example of the social events at the end of 1995 in order to analyse the ‘misunderstanding » between the government and the nation. « Governing is not administrating but (...) communicating » Communication precedes information which never proceeds alone